November Meeting Synopsis

Once again, Ed has provided an excellent summary of our monthly meeting, which is truly appreciated by those who could not make it….

– Gary Bennett, our President welcomed everyone to the meeting

– Ed Mizzi discussed Outreach programs and how to get involved. He will give a more in depth talk in December, involving teaching content and strategies.

– Bob Prociuk discussed current membership numbers and he offered a special welcome to a few new people who were at the meeting

– Andy Blanchard gave us some great news that AstroCATS 2017 is a GO, in a big part because David Surett has stepped forward to spearhead the event. However, any and all help is welcomed. Andy also announced that our club greatly benefitted from AstroCATS 2016, in terms of money raised.

– Gary B. followed up on the previous speakers and told the audience about the Survey he will soon launch. In the survey he will ask members about their interests, why they joined the club and what types of volunteer activities they wish to get involved in. He encouraged members to use our Forum as a way to communicate and get to know other members, as well as be involved in discussion on a wide variety of topics. Gary also spoke about the observatory and how he has fixed the 16” scope and that both broken computers have either been fixed or replaced. He also mentioned that members could obtain a 2017 RASC calendar for only $17, regular price $27.

– Gary also spoke about keys to the observatory and that members can pay for their keys with cash ($25) or through sweat equity by helping out with club events, clean up, etc. Members who already have a key will soon be contacted and be asked for their payment.

– Gary B. introduced our first guest speaker, Dave McCarter with his topic, “STARMUS” at Tenerife, Canary Islands, with Stephen Hawking. STARMUS was held June 27-July 2, 2016. Dave provided us with an entertaining synopsis of this great conference, including a short description of every speaker there. Another one of our long time, active members, Andy Blanchard also attended STARMUS and he interjected with a few stories of his own.

– Unfortunately we did not have time for the second speaker, Dave Dev, who graciously agreed to postpone his talk, about PHD Guiding, to the December meeting.

– Gary ended the meeting by thanking those who attended and inviting everyone for refreshments, after the meeting, at the Royal Coachman in Waterdown.

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